603 NAVIGATOR / FAMILY FUN EVENT pended from a silver rig glistening in the afternoon sun. Act 2: Envisioning the Vision In the thick of the pandemic, the concept of Circus in the Woods came as an epiphany to Jackie Davis, the founder and executive director of Flying Gravity Circus (FGC). She wanted to create a show where spectators and performers could be safe and socially distant while enjoying the magic of circus. Now Davis is thrilled to be partnering with the Harris Center, the Beaver Brook Association, the Hooper Institute and the Andres Institute of Art as hosts of her fully realized plan for the Circus in the Woods. The Latin root of the word circus is “cir” — a ring or circle — and while most traditional circus performances tend to adhere to the traditional ring, tent or theater setup, the organizers of this year’s show decided to turn things upside-down by reviving a tradition of an outdoor circus that dates back to Rome in the 13th century. Organizers will create a loop trail for the audience to follow around the grounds of each host venue, with circus acts performing at designated stops along the way. “I’m looking forward to the circus community seeing new things at the nature centers and to the public who frequent the nature centers seeing those places in a new light,” says FGC Artistic Director in Residence Rachel Schiffer. “There’s an extremely exciting exchange happening here, where circus and nature get to highlight the best of each other’s world.”
Emily Fulton,14, works through her Lyra routine.
Circus in the Woods An outdoor performance in four acts (and four locales) STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY KENDAL J. BUSH
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walk in the woods is good for your heart and soul. That’s science talking. The serene influence of nature combined with the simple effort of walking in forest air can calm and fortify a person better than any tonic. But what if you add a little art and amazing displays of talent and skill to the walk? The organizers and performers of Circus in the Woods are conducting an experiment to find out what happens, and you can be their subject. Here’s what you need to know, in four acts: 20
nhmagazine.com | May 2021
Act 1: Forest for the Trees Imagine: Family and friends alike arrive at a familiar, beloved conservation property on a beautiful early summer day. While masked and socially distanced from other family units, guests walk onto a wooded path, where the sound of music reaches their ears just as they come across a team of jugglers among the trees. After watching for a few moments, they continue through nature to find acrobats and handbalancers, tightwire walkers and aerialists on silks or trapeze, sus-
Act 3: The Ringmasters Flying Gravity Circus was started in 1999 by a group of 11 students from Pine Hill at High Mowing School in Wilton. “When we came up with the idea of starting our own circus company, it was really a new and exciting idea that we could start a youth circus,” says Jon Roitman, founding member, head coach and artistic director Although Schiffer and Roitman have crossed paths while performing and working within the circus community, the Circus in the Woods project is the first time the two are collaborating on a show. “You can’t have enough sharing and exchange in the arts,” says Schiffer. “If you’re stuck thinking about the same thing in the same way over and over, where are you going to go from there?”
